Josh Embry
Sports Editor
Following the loss of sophomore guard Macey Turley midway through the second quarter, Murray State women’s basketball was not able to regroup and lost 66-46 to Eastern Illinois.
By the end of the first quarter, the Racers looked as if they were going to win easily after holding the Panthers to just 2-for-14 shooting and eight points overall. Sophomore guard Alexis Burpo came out of the gate on an offensive tear, scoring eight points before burying a triple at the buzzer to outscore the entire EIU team.
Head Coach Rechelle Turner said the team’s first quarter play was one of the best quarters Murray State has played all year.
“I thought we played really well in the first half defensively,” Turner said. “The first quarter was one of the best quarters we have played.”
Midway through the second quarter, an EIU player shot the ball and as Turley and 6-foot-1-inch sophomore forward Abby Wahl were going for the rebound, Turley fell and Wahl landed on her left knee.
It was obvious Turley was injured immediately, as she laid on the court clutching her knee. She was helped off the court and into the locker room and returned a few minutes later with her knee wrapped in ice. She sat out the rest of the game.
Turner said the team was shaken up during the timeout that followed Turley’s injury.
“In the timeout right after Macey was hurt, you could just tell the color was drained out of all their faces because that is their best friend and they also know that we need everyone we have,” Turner said.
Following the timeout, the Panthers upped the pressure on the Racers with a 2-3 zone trap, knowing that the team’s primary ball-handler was out.
The zone trap sped Murray State up and made the Racers commit nine turnovers in the quarter. They also went just 3-for-11 from the field and were outscored by EIU 24-9 in the quarter. At halftime, the Panthers led 32-23.
Turner knew the team was going to struggle without their best player because of their lack of depth and the production Turley brings.
“When she went down, you know you are going to be in a difficult situation to begin with because we have such low numbers and she runs our basketball team,” Turner said. “We went on a five minute spell again where we don’t score in the second quarter and when she is not there, it is hard to overcome those things.”
With Turley out, the Racers’ offense stalled, shooting just 5-for-16 to go along with six turnovers. Despite Murray State’s lack of offense, they were only outscored by two points in the third quarter.
The Racers were outscored by nine points in the fourth quarter and were only able to reduce EIU’s lead to nine points. Turner emptied the bench with two minutes left in the game, as it was all but over. The Panthers went on to win by 20 points.
Following the game, Turner hugged Turley and told her the team will get through this and that they always support her.
“I just hugged her and I said, ‘We are going to get through this no matter what,’” Turner said. “‘We have gotten through way worse. You just got to continue to understand that and believe that and we are going to be here for you every step of the way.’”
The loss of Turley was certainly discouraging for the Racers, but there were positives to take from this game as well.
Although both Burpo and junior forward Laci Hawthorne both had eight turnovers, they still played especially well and led Murray State.
Burpo only scored four points in the last three quarters but still managed to score 15 points and have 11 rebounds and three assists. Hawthorne dominated the glass, as she collected a career-high 15 rebounds to go along with 11 points.
Freshman forward Macie Gibson continued her impressive play as she hit two triples and finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Lex Mayes struggled shooting the ball as she went just 1-for-8 but also had four rebounds and two assists. Turley went scoreless in her 15 minutes of play but grabbed five rebounds.
EIU was led by junior guard Taylor Steele, who scored a game-high and personal season-high 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting from deep along with four rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Junior guard Karle Pace had a solid overall game, finishing with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Both Wahl and freshman guard Lariah Washington scored 11 points while sophomore guard Kira Arthofer dished out eight assists to go along with six points and two steals.
Despite the loss, Murray State is still ranked eighth in the OVC standings because of losses by both Morehead State and EKU. Murray State and Morehead State share the same conference record (5-10) but the Racers own the tiebreaker since they defeated the Eagles on Saturday, Feb. 15.
With Turley not playing the next game, the Racers are going to have to step up and find ways to score the ball against SIUE.
“[Turley’s injury] just shows our deficits,” Turner said. “We just need some help and hopefully we are going to be able to get ourselves together and figure out some different stuff to do offensively because obviously she won’t play on Saturday.”
Turner said the team is going to rally around Turley’s injury and will continue to build a culture of “we over me.”
“If we can continue to grow and grow closer together and continue the ‘we over me’ mentality and culture that we are trying to build, we feel like something positive is going to come out of this,” Turner said.
The Racers will look to rally back into the win column when they travel to Edwardsville, Illinois, to take on SIUE at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22.
